As mentioned previously here last summer, the U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage & Hour Division has brought back the Opinion Letter, the process previously used by attorneys and HR professionals to obtain guidance from the WHD. The DOL dropped the practice in 2010, but it has since been reinstated.
Yesterday, on April 12, 2018, the
On Monday, April 9, 2018, the day before Equal Pay Day, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals held that employers cannot use an employee’s past salary to justify paying women less than men under the federal Equal Pay Act (EPA). The Ninth Circuit’s decision in Rizo v. Yovino overruled prior holdings in the circuit that
Earlier today (April 2, 2018), the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that auto service advisers (also commonly referred to as “service writers”) are exempt from overtime under the Fair Labor Standards Act (“FLSA”). Today’s ruling in Encino Motorcars LLC v. Navarro et. al. has affirmatively answered the long-standing question as to whether auto service advisers
As my colleague Bill Pokorny reported back on August 31, a Texas District Court struck down the Obama Administration’s FLSA Overtime Exemption Rule, holding that the Department of Labor (DOL) exceeded its authority by increasing the minimum salary for the Executive, Administrative, and Professional Exemptions to 
$913 per week. In a (somewhat) surprise move,
Yesterday, President Trump’s then nominee for Secretary of Labor, Andy Puzder, withdrew his nomination ahead of his confirmation hearing given the increasing opposition to his nomination by both parties. Less than 24 hours later, President Trump announced Alexander Acosta as his new choice for Secretary of Labor. Mr. Acosta is currently the dean of Florida
Sorry employers, the ride’s not over yet. For those of you keeping track, the U.S. Department of Labor’s new overtime exemption rules were set to go into effect yesterday, December 1, 2016. However, on November 22, 2016, the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas issued a nationwide preliminary injunction blocking the rules
Yesterday, the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Texas dealt employers yet another surprise in this season of upsets with its decision in State of Nevada v. U.S. Department of Labor, halting the implementation of the DOL’s new FLSA overtime exemption rules, which were set to take effect December 1,
As we have reported over the last couple of months, there have been recent attempts by business groups and states to block the U.S. DOL’s new overtime exemption rule from taking effect on December 1, 2016. Despite these efforts, no court has yet to issue any ruling. With just 30 days to go, employers
Yesterday, the United States House of Representatives passed a bill, H.R. 6094 (the “bill” referred to as the Regulatory Relief for Small Businesses, Schools and Nonprofits Act), that would delay the effective date of the Department of Labor’s new overtime rule by 6 months, from December 1, 2016 to June 1, 2017. The Vote passed the House 246-177, with 5 Democrats voting in favor of it. This is just the latest challenge to the DOL’s doubling of the minimum salary threshold for the white collar exemptions (executive, administrative, and professional) under the Fair Labor Standards Act. Business groups, congressional Republicans and State Officials have all criticized the drastic economic impact such a measure would have on businesses.
Continue Reading House Votes to Delay OT Rule But Employers Are Not Out of the Woods Yet
Yesterday, a group of 21 states filed a lawsuit in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Texas challenging the Department of Labor’s new overtime rule, which is set to take effect on December 1, 2016. The group challenging the rule is led by Texas and Nevada, and includes the following states: Alabama, Arizona, Georgia, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Michigan, Mississippi, Nebraska, New Mexico, Ohio, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Utah, and Wisconsin. The lawsuit names as Defendants the DOL and its Wage and Hour Division, Secretary of Labor Thomas Perez, and Wage and Hour Administrator David Weil, and Assistant Administrator for Policy Mary Ziegler.
As most know by now, in May 2016, the DOL issued its final rule establishing a new minimum salary threshold for the white collar exemptions (executive, administrative, and professional) under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). This new threshold of $913 per week ($47,476 annualized) more than doubles the current minimum weekly salary threshold of $455 per week ($23,660 annualized), and is scheduled to increase every three years.Continue Reading 21 States File Suit Challenging the DOL’s New Overtime Rule